5/31 From 1965: Clemente Day, Game Tales - Luis Loose, Jose At 5, BB's 1st, 2-Man Tag, Coke Trial; HBD Kenny
- 1967 – OF Kenny Lofton was born in East Chicago, Indiana. The Bucs signed him as a free agent for $1.025M and he had a nice year in 2003, hitting .277 with 18 swiped sacks while posting a 26-game hitting streak. He was lost in an epic Bucco salary dump when he was traded to the Cubs at the deadline with Aramis Ramirez for Bobby Hill, Jose Hernandez and Matt Bruback; Lofton and A-Ram helped Chicago to the 2003 National League Central title. Kenny played until he was 40-years-old, retiring after the 2007 campaign with 17 seasons, 11 playoff years and six All-Star berths on his resume. After Lofton left baseball, he remained an entertainer, moving from stadia to studios by getting into film and television, his major at the U of Arizona, as both a producer and actor.
- 1973 – The Bucs topped the Atlanta Braves, 3-1, backing up Nellie Briles three-hitter with Willie Stargell’s three-run blast in the eighth at TRS. Stargell’s ball went 468’ and landed in the upper deck. Of the 12 shots that carried into the cheap seats in Three Rivers Stadium history, Pops launched the most; this was his fourth and final second-tier homer. It broke up a gem by Gary Gentry; he had a shutout going into the eighth when a one-out infield single and 3-2 walk that raised the hackles of Bravo manager Eddie Matthews was followed by Willie’s blast. Briles went the distance for the win, sending Atlanta to their seventh straight loss.
- 1985 – A Federal grand jury indicted seven for cocaine distribution and sales in baseball, none of which were Pirates (the players that testified were granted immunity). GM Joe Brown hoped the indictments would “…remove the shadow that has existed over the Pirates…” but his hope was in vain. The coke trials tainted the team’s freewheeling clubhouse culture and several Bucs, notably Dave Parker and Rod Scurry, in the eyes of the fans.
- 1986 – Barry Bonds collected his first MLB hit, a first-inning double off Rick Honeycutt, as the Bucs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-0, at PNC Park. Bonds must have been excited; he was picked off second base a batter later. Bonds had debuted a day earlier, posting an 0-fer. Bill Almon’s two-run homer and Bob Kipper’s seven shutout innings keyed the win. Kip earned the victory and Pat Clements picked up the save by getting the final five outs.
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| Barry Bonds – 1986 Donruss Rookie |
- 1988 – Not only did the Braves turn off the lights on the Pirates in an 11-1 thumping at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, but the Bucs were further left in the dark in the bottom of the eighth when the ballyard lights went out for 15 minutes. The game was already decided well before the blackout as the Bravos jumped ahead, 8-0, after two frames, and as Barry Bonds noted of the blown fuse: “It just prolonged the agony.” It also once again proved that baseball is a funny game; Pittsburgh was the thumper the night before, winning the match by a 14-2 count.
- 1992 – The Pirates and Giants had a true throwback game – the Bucs wore their 1939 uniforms with red lettering and blue piping while the Giants wore their 1939 pinstripes with “New York” emblazoned across their chests. The old-timey G-Men beat the Bucs, 5-3, scoring three unearned runs off Zane Smith. It marked the first month since April, 1990, that the Pirates didn’t lead the division. Jimmy Leyland made no excuses: “We’re not in first place because we haven’t played like a first place team…” the skipper said of his 11-17 charges. That changed in a hurry – a sizzling finish put the Pirates comfortably atop the division by the time the smoke cleared, with 96 victories and a nine-game pad over the Nats.
- 1994 – It wasn’t a good day to be a Pirate pitcher. San Diego scored 13 runs in the second inning on the way to a 15-5 whipping of the Bucs at Jack Murphy Stadium. Steve Cooke and John Hope were the hapless hurlers in that unlucky frame. The Bucs showed some spunk as Jay Bell spanked a grand slam and Brian Hunter added a solo shot, but too little, too latel.
- 2006 – Jose Castillo homered in his fifth straight game as the Pirates defeated Milwaukee, 6-1, at PNC Park. Castillo hit a two-run shot off Chris Capuano in the second inning to continue a streak that began on the 26th against Houston’s Taylor Bucholtz, the third longest in franchise history behind Dale Long’s eight game streak and Jason Bay’s six-gamer (which had ended the day before). Ian Snell and three relievers combined on a three-hitter against the Brew Crew.
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| Luis Rivas – 2008 photo John Grieshop/Getty |
- 2008 – SS Luis Rivas had four RBI, two runs scored, a homer and double as the Bucs pounded St. Louis, 14-4, at Busch Stadium to ruin Tony LaRussa’s 2,000th game as St. Louis skipper. Ronny Paulino added three RBI with three hits and a homer of his own while Jose Bautista chipped in with four raps. Xavier Nady and Freddie Sanchez chipped in three hits.
- 2016 – Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that this date would be Roberto Clemente Day throughout MLB. The highlight of the celebration was to be a game between the Pirates and Miami Marlins at San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Unfortunately, the game was moved to Miami after a Zika outbreak on the island, and his special day was pushed back. His day of remembrance began in 2002, and starting in 2009 was marked by pre-game ceremonies around MLB with the teams presenting their Roberto Clemente Award to its nominee, with the overall winner announced after the World Series. In 2020, MLB made the date September 15th permanently to align with Hispanic Heritage Month.
- 2023 – The Pirates whipped the Giants, 9-4, at Oracle Park. Andrew McCutchen, Connor Joe and Ji Hwan Bae combined for eight hits, two walks and seven runs while Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes chased home five teammates. Mitch Keller ran his record to 7-1, with four relievers working the final three frames to shut the gate. For the Bucs, it was a big sigh of relief; it was the first series they had won in May. For Kell, it was another red letter day in his breakout start. He became the first pitcher in franchise history to put up 90+ whiffs before June 1st when he fanned eight to run his season total to 93, topping AJ Burnett’s mark of 89 Ks in 2013. He also added to his record skein of striking out 8+ batters, running it up to seven consecutive contests after passing up Ollie Perez’s 2004 five-game streak, the previous high water mark, in his prior outing.
Source: https://oldbucs.blogspot.com/2025/05/531-from-1965-clemente-day-game-tales.html
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